Find Me Online

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Tell A Big Fat Lie Tuesday: Reviews

Dude, I totally don't care about reviews. Not from book bloggers, not from the industry professionals, not from anyone. I welcome scathing comments. I enjoy it when people say my book is confusing, hard to read, and inferior to other novels.

I just don't care. I am immune.

Bring on the soul-damaging, depression-inducing reviews! I likez them.

My favorite review?
"...fails..." ~Kirkus

I'm stoked for what the future might hold in the review department. Can you tell? Why are reviews so hard to stomach? At least I'm not on national TV, being torn apart in front of a live television audience.

***This blog post was brought to you by sarcasm, fibs-I-tell-myself, and the letter J.

***This next portion brought to you by non-sarcasm: I support anyone who writes reviews of any book. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and should be able to express it.

i was totally buying this until i got to the footnotes.Was that a real Kirkus review?!For reals, i might be one of those people that won't ever read reviews. Or at least have my sister screen them for me first, to see if they're terrible

Find a good one, which I'm sure you will, and read it quickly to douse the flames. Then read it again and savour it. We need a bit of bad just so we can really appreciate the good. Right? Builds character and all that. Well that's what they say. :)

It's weird how one bad review can make you forget that you have tons of good ones. I'm not published, but when I post my work online, "IT SUCKS!" leaves me in a downward spiral of depression and angst. True story.

Sigh...reviews. The bad ones make you want to smash your laptop over your head and run screaming for the hills. But the good ones...the good ones make your day brighter, your smile wider and put a special rose colored filter on everything for at least 24 hours. I've been there. I once had a gal say she hated my book so much she wanted to crumple up the pages and chuck them at my face. Niiiice. It gets easier to deal with and eventually, the awful feeling goes away. Hang in there, and congrats on your upcoming release!!

Oooooh. I forgot about that. Reviews. Yes. Even if I manage to write 'the' book. Get an agent. Get a book deal. There's still the 'reviews' to get through. My stomach hurts for you. But I'm confident you'll have plenty of great reviews Elana! I have yet to read a negative review for Possession (but I'm sure authors of books can't help being curious to read their bad reviews. Don't do it.) I can't wait to read Possession!

Reviews can be so hard to take sometimes! With my fantasy romance trilogy, it seems that either people love it or hate it, which means that I'm soaring high for some reviews and way down in the dumps for others. But you can't please everyone with your book, that's impossible, and to try is purely futile.

The good news is that there are as many types as reviewers as there are readers and so much of it is personal. I continue to be amazed by my own strange likes and dis-likes compared to my book group. We'll all read the same thing and everyone by me will LOVE it and I was bored stiff - and vice versa. Go figure.

I guess we just have to remember that we don't like everything, so it's only natural for some people not to like our writing, but like someone said, with all the great reviews out there, I'm sure you'll have a lot of great reviews to read.

I'll nitpick here, because I feel you're not being 100% honest with us here (and I can't get to the full Kirkus review myself).

You've picked one word out of what was probably a 100-200 word review. Sure it was the word that likely hurt the most, but without giving us that word in context, it loses most of it's meaning. Did the review say "POSSESSION fails to hold reader interest" or "the typeface in sections fails to be legible" or "The cover image fails to adequately express the conflict within the pages"?

Dude, thank YOU for telling the truth! The rest of us, when our turn comes (and it will ~ we'll get published and some will think our books SUCK), we'll be able to go "well, heck. Elana's book rocked my world and Kirkus said IT sucked so guess what? Kirkus can go suck eggs!"

I'm very sorry if Kirkus gave you a harsh review. That is going to be such a hard thing to deal with once I (finally, if ever) get published, to get negative reviews. That is the unfortunate part of any artistic endeavor, is that it is subjective. So while many people will and obviously do LOVE your book, there will also be those who don't. ALL books have that, no matter how great, or how successful. I know it's hard, but try to focus on all the good out there and all the love so many have for you and your book. *hugs*

Ha, the fine print on this post. LOL Well, I'm sure you'll do fine regarding reviews, but it's probably unrealistic that they'll be ALL positive. There are too many readers/reviewers with different tastes out there. And it's often easier or more fun to write a negative review. ;o)

No, no, I think Kirkus is right. POSSESSION fails at sounding like everything else out there. POSSESSION fails at conforming to the assembly line like so many other novels that are hitting the market. POSSESSION fails at disappointing its audience.

Search This Blog

Buy My Books on Amazon

See everything I've written and buy my books!

My Books on Your iPad

What People Are Saying About POSSESSION

"Possession held me completely captivated from beginning to end. And what an end! I fell in love with the characters and had countless moments of 'Wow.'"--James Dashner, bestselling author of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials

“Most [readers] will be drawn in by the love triangle, revelations about Vi and her family, and a dark twist ending that maintains the faintest glimmer of hope.” --Publisher's Weekly

"Who Should Read This: Anyone who wants a challenge: This plot is so twisty, I had to read the last chapter twice before I could believe what happened. There's also a very nice balance between badass action and romantic tension for readers who like a good mix of the two." --MTV.com

“Emotion pumps through every scene of this thriller. Given all the urgency and action, the novel’s ending may surprise readers as the heroic adventure turns into a tragic love story.” –School Library Journal

“If George Orwell's novel 1984 were to have a little stepsister, Johnson's POSSESSION would be her.... It would also be perfect for those who relish a hearty romance mixed in with science fiction....As readers follow the relationship triangle, they will gasp with anticipation wondering which boy she will ultimately choose.” --VOYA